Renewed Support Called For Hong Kong Shares

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market headed south again on Wednesday, one day after ending the two-day slide in which it had fallen more than 50 points or 0.5 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 16,080-point plateau although it's expected to bounce higher again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher and is likely to be driven by earnings news. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The Hang Seng finished modestly lower on Wednesday following losses from the financials and properties and a mixed picture from the technology stocks.

For the day, the index lost 54.98 points or 0.34 percent to finish at 16,081.89 after trading between 16,035.43 and 16,408.15.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group and Haier Smart Home both slumped 1.45 percent, while Alibaba Health Info soared 4.95 percent, ANTA Sports sank 0.78 percent, China Life Insurance eased 0.11 percent, China Mengniu Dairy tumbled 2.15 percent, China Resources Land plunged 4.07 percent, CITIC slid 0.25 percent, CNOOC lost 0.68 percent, Country Garden added 0.36 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical retreated 1.63 percent, Galaxy Entertainment dipped 0.23 percent, Hang Lung Properties skidded 1.23 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas fell 0.52 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shed 0.77 percent, JD.com tanked 2.59 percent, Lenovo plummeted 4.25 percent, Li Ning declined 1.58 percent, Meituan weakened 1.44 percent, New World Development dropped 0.94 percent, Techtronic Industries rallied 2.02 percent, Xiaomi Corporation stumbled 1.55 percent, WuXi Biologics surged 5.62 percent and Henderson Land was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is solid as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday and remained in the green throughout the day as the Dow and S&P both hit record closing highs.

The Dow climbed 156.00 points or 0.40 percent to finish at 38,677.36, while the NASDAQ rallied 147.65 points or 0.95 percent to end at 15,756.64 and the S&P 500 gained 40.83 points or 0.82 percent to close at 4,995.06.

The strength on Wall Street reflected recent upbeat economic data, which is still seen as a positive even though it reduces the chance of an interest rate cut next month.

Also supporting the markets were solid earnings news from the likes of solar inverter maker Enphase Energy (ENPH) and auto giant Ford (F).

In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department released a report showing the U.S. trade deficit widened in December.

Crude oil futures settled higher on Wednesday after official data showed a notable drop in gasoline stockpiles last week in the U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended higher by $0.55 at $73.86 a barrel, gaining for a third straight session.